CPAC Panelist: It Is ‘A Liberal Lie’ That States Ban Gay Marriage

Conservative radio host Michael Medved said Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference that no state has ever banned gay marriage and any claim to the contrary is “a liberal lie.”

“There has never been a state in this country that has ever banned gay marriage,” Medved said during a panel titled “Can Libertarians and Social Conservatives Ever Get Along?” after another panelist referenced historical discrimination against LGBT couples. “That is a liberal lie.”

Prior to Medved’s comment, Alexander McCobin, president and co-founder of Students for Liberty, a libertarian group, said that the religious liberty that had historically been repressed had been “the liberty of those religious institutions and practices that support same-sex marriage.”

“The government has prevented them from engaging in the religious practice that they want,” he said.

To be clear: 30 states have banned same-sex marriage in their state constitution, usually by legally defining marriage as between a man and a woman, according to the Human Rights Campaign.